State Democratic lawmaker charged with 2 DWIs

State Democratic lawmaker charged with 2 DWIs

A southeastern Missouri lawmaker is facing two charges of driving while intoxicated stemming from separate arrests in the capital city, according to court documents released Monday.

Rep. Steve Hodges, a Democrat from East Prairie, was charged Friday for two separate events - one that occurred last week and the other in February. Hodges was not at the Capitol on Monday and didn't immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Hodges was pulled over Wednesday by a Cole County sheriff's deputy who was responding to a report about a driver operating a vehicle while sleeping near St. Stanislaus Church. When the deputy approached the car, it pulled off the road into the grass, according to a probable cause statement released to the AP by the county prosecutor.

Hodges was taken to the county jail and given a breath test that showed a .17 blood alcohol level, more than twice the .08 legal limit for driving, according to the statement. He was later released.

The lawmaker also was arrested in February, after which he told the AP he planned to seek treatment and had failed to show a high level of responsibility. He said he was on his way back from a late-night drive for food when he stopped in a parking lot, got out of his car, slipped while stepping on ice and then had trouble getting back up.

He was taken by Jefferson City police to a hospital. He refused a blood-alcohol test and was issued a summons for suspicion of driving while intoxicated, according to the probable cause statement. He has a court hearing April 22 stemming from the February arrest to determine whether his license should be revoked.

Hodges, 65, was first elected to the House in 2006 and is prohibited by term limits from seeking re-election this year. He ran unsuccessfully last year against Republican state Rep. Jason Smith in a special election for a vacant U.S. House seat.

An attorney for Hodges isn't listed in online court records. His office said he wasn't expected to attend the House's session Monday night.